Time
by StealingHearts22
Summary: OneShot. Post3x06. Time is always moving too fast, especially for Jack and Kate.


Time  
By: Katie (StealingHearts22)  
Rating: PG  
Pairing: Jack/Kate, mentions of Sawyer/Kate  
Length: One-Shot/Drabble  
Timeframe: A few months after 3x06; Spoilers up to that point.  
Warning: A little Jangst never hurt anyone.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost; I'm just borrowing the characters (and using them for my Jate-y purposes mwahaha)!

A/N: Semi-inspired by the songs "She Is" and "All At Once" by The Fray.

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_She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted. She is everything I want that I never knew I needed._

_-----_

Jack hadn't seen Kate in months, but he hadn't forgotten anything about her. He had memorized the way she moved, the way her long brown hair always looked perfect, and the way her gentle voice had a calming, soothing effect on him.

He also hadn't forgotten how things used to be between them. The butterflies and the strange flip his stomach would make when he saw her or thought about her, which had been often. However, even more ingrained in his memory was the emotion he had felt when he saw Kate with Sawyer on that tiny television monitor. He felt stupid and betrayed. They had never made any promises to each other, but it was still something he had never expected. He remembered almost laughing at himself for thinking that she liked him, cared about him -- heck, at times he thought it was possible she could've loved him. He shook his head in disbelief. Had he honestly not seen the relationship between Kate and Sawyer developing that way? In any case, he accepted it. It was the same outcome as the majority of relationships he had been in previously -- Sarah leaving him for another man was the most obvious example. Unfortunately for him, his feelings for Kate were different than those he had for Sarah. They were deeper, stronger, and more intense.

He had been naive in thinking that his and Kate's relationship had the potential to develop into something more than a friendship. He had been angry and bitter at first, but after ensuring Kate and Sawyer's escape, telling her never to come back for him, and listening to her tearful goodbye, he had softened slightly.

Now, as he stood unnoticed in the trees bordering the beach, he was tentative. He could see her standing at the water's edge merely watching the tide move in and out at her feet. She looked the same -- her hair a little longer and her overall manner a little more tired.

Jack sighed and looked down at his feet while he shuffled them in the sand. He glanced up at her again. Then it hit him. He still loved her; he had _always_ loved her. He stole one last longing gaze at her before he disappeared back into the trees.

At that moment, Kate lifted her head and turned to look at the spot where he had just disappeared. She had thought that she felt someone behind her. She watched the rustle in the trees fade away.

Her thoughts turned to Jack. Against all odds, she still managed to keep a tiny bit of hope that he would somehow return. She would tell him that she was sorry, and she would fight to get him back. As the months passed however, this hope dwindled. She thought she would never again hear his voice or feel his warm lips on hers. She didn't even want to go home anymore. Her only wish was to see him again -- to be able to start over. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she sank down to sit in the sand.

Jack slowly made his way deeper into the jungle. He had actually been in the area around the beach for days, but he wasn't sure he was ready to return. Kate had hurt him -- ripping into the old scars he had worked so hard to heal. He still wanted her, though. He still wanted to finally tell her how he feels, but he knew he wouldn't be able to. It was too late. Too much time had passed. Neither of them would ever be the same.

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_...sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same._ _Maybe you want her, maybe you need her, maybe you had her, maybe you lost her to another..._

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A/N: I hope you enjoy it! Sorry it's so short and a bit angsty. But any good Jater loves angst... we thrive on it! Comments and CC are greatly appreciated!

Katie


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